ELECTION NIGHT

Waikato Times, Volume 132, Issue 22153, 27 September 1943, Page 6

ELECTION NIGHT

VICTORIA STREET CROWD

Election night in Hamilton did not seem to be the same hectic night of excitement as it has been in other elections. The recent unruly weather conditions had made electors chary of venturing out-of-doors but, notwithstanding. there was a large lively crowd in front of the huge board on the Waikato Times building. Cheery good humour was noticeable as the electors followed the fortunes of the rival parties and it was not till well after mid-night that it dispersed. With special charts for the occasion and with a bright fire burning, a great number of electors followed by radio the results of the polling in the comfort of their own. homes Others spent the earlier part of the evening at the various picture theatres where they saw results flashed onto the screen, later coming to swell the street crowd.

Not for many years had interest been so well sustained through the night for it was not till the early hours of Sunday morning that it became clear that the Government would have a working majority. Records played over a loud speaker, community singing and good natured banter helped to pass the time for the crowd in front of the Times. There were outbursts of vociferous cheering from one or other of the rival parties as the various returns were posted up, any exclamations of dismay being usually drowned >n derisive laughter.